Self-employed home loans with one year of financials

The old rule of thumb — two years of tax returns before a bank will look at you — is no longer the whole story. Several mainstream lenders will assess a self-employed application on your most recent year of financials, and specialist lenders can work from BAS or business bank statements with even less history.

One-year policies matter most when your business is growing. Averaging a strong recent year with a weaker start-up year drags your assessable income down; a latest-year policy assesses you on what the business earns now.

Add-backs are the other lever. Depreciation, one-off expenses, super contributions above the guarantee and interest on debts being refinanced can all be added back to your taxable income under many policies — lifting assessable income well above what your tax return shows at first glance.

If full returns are not ready or genuinely understate the business, alt-doc loans assess on an accountant's declaration, BAS or bank statements. Rates are higher, so we usually pair one with a plan to refinance to a sharper full-doc rate once your financials catch up.

The practical takeaway: do not assume you need to wait. A broker can map your trading history and structure against live lender policy — see our home loans for self-employed page, or get in touch before your next tax return is lodged, because how it is prepared can change what you can borrow. General information only, not credit advice.